Real Questions

Real Questions with Robin Thicke

iHeartRadio Music Award Artist of the Year nominee Robin Thicke had an incredible 2013. His song "Blurred Lines" was a bonafide smash that catapulted his career into super stardom, so it's no wonder that the soulful singer is nominated for multiple awards at the first-ever iHeartRadio Music Awards in May.

Before his megahit went platinum, Robin Thicke stopped by the iHeartRadio Headquarters in NYC to answer the questions fans REALLY want to know. Check it out below!

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There's no arguing that Robin Thicke is hot right now - in more ways than one. The handsome singer/songwriter enjoyed international success with smash hit "Blurred Lines," and the racy video for the song only added fuel to the fire (watch the unrated version - it's NSFW but totally worth it). When he was in the studio recording the song, though, he didn't know how successful it would become.

"After 20 years of having that feeling and not being right, then you start to not trust that feeling anymore," he tells iHeartRadio. "What I did think was that this could be our big pop crossover song. We were thinking about releasing more soulful, R&B songs that were closer to the music I had done before. And I said, 'I really think 'Blurred Lines,' if it could cross over to pop, I think it could be a big pop record.'"

And he was right. The song went #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and also shot to the top of the charts in several countries around the world. "You never think 40 countries," Robin says, "I mean, it’s the Macarena."

"Blurred Lines" the song, as well as previously released "For the Rest of My Life," preceded the album Blurred Lines, which dropped July 30th. In addition to Pharrell and T.I., the album also features appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland and will.i.am, and according to Robin, it's more pop than his previous albums. "It’s a lot of dance - fun, cool dance," he says. "It’s not like cheesy pop music. I call it soulful, sexy fun."

iHeartRadio put Robin in the hot seat when he was in New York City recently, and he wasn't shy about, well, anything. Get to know Robin a little bit better through his answers to our Real Questions below - the stuff you REALLY wanna know!

Oh yeah, everybody stole the hash tag. That was the director’s idea and I know all directors are out there going, 'Why didn’t I think of that?' My dad likes [Robyn]. I don’t know her stuff, but my dad’s like, 'Have you heard this Robyn girl? I like her.' But yeah, emulation is the highest form of flattery.

What is the last illegal thing that you did?

Well I guess it’s still illegal to smoke weed, right? In this state. So last night.

Were you part of the popular crowd in high school?

I was friends with the popular crowd because my dad had a big hit TV show when I was in high school. But I was always kind of a loner. I would hang out with the basketball players or play dominoes with the black kids. The black kids didn’t necessarily hang out with the white rockers, but then the football team, they all hung out together, so it was kind of one of those high schools where there were separate tables, but I ended up hanging out a little bit with everybody at different times. I was always kind of a free mover... nobody really liked me because I was a little too cocky for my own good when I was younger. Still am, I think.

How old were you when you lost your virginity?

13. I had a pretty wild couple of years when I was 13.

When was your first kiss?

When I was, I think, six, was the first kiss. There was a girl named Puff who was a couple years older than me when I was about nine, and we pretty much did everything. She was taking advantage of me a little bit.

Have you ever been fired from a job?

No. I was making music professionally, making a living when I was 16. I wrote and produced songs for other people. So by the time I was 17, when my senior year started, I moved out and got my own apartment and lived on my own for my senior year.It’s kind of a different teenage lifestyle.

How tall are you?

6'3"

What do you make of the recent comparisons to Justin Timberlake?

I like it. I think that it’s natural because obviously he went a little more soulful than he did pop this time, and that’s what I’ve been doing for the last ten years. People think he’s doing it because of something that I did, but the reality is he’s doing it because he loves that music and those artists just as much as I do. He loves Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and he’s from Memphis, I believe. So I think he’s doing because he loves it and he loves that music and that culture, so we’re both doing it for the right reasons.

We’re both white guys, we’re close to the same age, we both have blue eyes, we both hang out with rappers. You know, there are a lot of similarities. I’m just taller.

What’s the last thing that really pissed you off?

Negotiating with certain people on my new album. Some people are asking for a little too much - the producers and writers, and featured artists. As soon as the song was number one in 20 or 30 countries, everybody started asking for more. Pharrell is great and T.I. is fine - I won’t get into specifics, but everybody’s asking for a little more now that they know. I got pretty upset the other night over one particular person who I thought was being unruly. Now we’re realizing let’s do the negotiations before we go into the studio from now on.

What’s your biggest regret?

My biggest regret is not believing in myself a lot of the time, and yet that’s where a lot of my best music came from. I was trying to deal with my mediocre success. Even though I loved my music and I wouldn’t have made any different music than I’ve made, it hasn’t been as successful as I wanted, and that fight, that struggle, has also turned me into the man that I wanted to be. I always thank God for making me wait so long, because if I would have had this ten years earlier, I would’ve become a jerk.

To be 36 and on my sixth album and have a number one all around the world, I have such great perspective on it all now and I can enjoy it the right way.

Who's your man crush?

I like a man’s man. I like Jack Nicholson and Sean Penn and Jonny Depp. I like Russell Crowe too, Russell Crowe is my man. He has balls.

I can always go into a room full of men who are pretty tough guys and always feel like I’m still, you know, Mr. Tough, Mr. Cool. When I met Russell Crowe, I was like, okay, you’re more man than me. You’ve probably got dirty draws on right now (laughs). Russell Crowe is the man.

What do you wear to sleep at night?

Nothing, usually.

Do you ever go without showering?

No. I don’t want to smell bad, that’s the worst thing. Got to keep it clean. You never know when you might need to use it. You’ve got to keep it clean.

What were you made fun of for as a kid?

Most of the time I was made fun of for my name. Robin, 'Batman and Robin' or Thicke, 'Robin has a thick slick prick d**k,' which is so funny because what I used to get teased for in school... turns out the director wanted to use it in the video. The only reason that she put the 'Robin Thicke has a big d**k' in it is because it rhymes. That was her main reason. And then it turned into swinging sausages around.

What do you waste time on?

Doubt. Doubting yourself and doubting the future. I feel at least just having this success right now, it’s like winning the Super Bowl for a quarterback or something for me. I finally at least have one hit, and you can kind of go, 'They like me. They really like me.'

I know good music. I’ve been making it my whole life, and everybody who I like, whether it’s Jay-Z or the best in the business, they’re all coming in and telling me how great my music is, so I must be making good music, and you just wonder how come I haven’t had that moment or that breakthrough record or whatever. Now that I have that, the monkey is off my back, I can really enjoy life a lot more. I already have the woman of my dreams for my girl and a beautiful, healthy boy. That’s why this new album is much more celebratory and much more fun, because I didn’t want to be so whiny anymore.

Have you ever peed your pants?

Not as an adult. I remember having a dream when I was younger where I was actually using the toilet in my dream. I literally thought I was standing over a toilet peeing, and then I woke up and I was like, oh geez, what’s happening? (laughs)

Then it happened to me once a few years ago where I started to think again that I was standing over a toilet and I didn’t trust it... I woke up.

What's your shoe size?

13.

Have you ever knowingly broken a heart?

Yes. I was very promiscuous very young, so I’d have a different girlfriend every month or so in school, like in junior high. Normally, they wouldn’t put out right away, and I’m like, yeah, I’m like I getting some on the weekend, don’t be so prude. So I probably broke a couple hearts making them think, because I’m a romantic too, so I’m very complimentary. I’m sure I’ve broken a few hearts. But I didn’t mean to.

What’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to your manager?

Well, I have a new manager now. Luckily everything’s been so good since I signed with him. Everything went number one, so I don’t have anything mean to say to him right now. But I’ve definitely said some mean things to my old manager, like, 'You’re a f**king idiot. You’re a liar and you’re an idiot.' I probably said that once.

What’s the most overpriced thing you’ve ever bought?

Oh, definitely my car. It’s a Porsche - the fancy one - so it’s just a ridiculous amount of money considering I drive it to the gym and back. I’ve had it for a couple of years and it probably has 6,000 miles on it. It’s like the biggest waste of money.